UK GDP rises but per head is below recession levels

The UK economy has grown more slowly in the past year than previously thought, official figures indicate.

A revision to previous figures means that growth over the year to the third quarter is now put at 2.6%, not 3%.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed that the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.7% from the second quarter of the year to the third quarter.

However, ONS Chief Economist Joe Grice observed that GDP per head was still below the levels seen before the recession.